Digital brand management

The days when everything happened in print are long gone. Brands are managed by numerous actors in the company — top management, marketing, communication, sales, support…. The Corporate Communication and Marketing Communication departments have lost their communication sovereignty. And “don’t communicate” is not an option. For us as a B2B branding agency, Paul Watzlawick’s first axiom, interpreted for the brand communication of companies, is “You cannot not communicate.” Especially not in the digital world.

Every company, every top decision-maker in a company, the employees in a company – all of them have already left their mark on the digital world today and communicate with varying intensity and in different words about their own company, their own B2B brand. To turn the experimental phase into holistic digital brand communication, a well-founded analysis of the status quo is required. This concerns the current digital events in the company (website, social media, content, search engine ranking, etc.) and the experience gained. This concerns the comparison of markets and competitors. This applies to the target groups, but also the alignment with existing brand values and brand positioning, brand personality, and basic tonality. Digital brand management is part of strategic brand management in the company and is therefore equally subject to the principles of analysis, strategy, implementation, and control at our branding agency.

The results of the digital brand analysis are compared with the basic B2B brand strategy in the company. This reveals strengths and weaknesses. Based on this knowledge, goals for digital brand management can be defined and brand strategies developed, of course across channels. As a branding agency at home in both the classic and digital worlds, we support the strategy process in a holistic and integrated manner, because the digital brand is never just digital. There will always be media disruptions at which people leave the digital space and enter the written, telephone, and personal space. That is why the analysis and strategic integration of customer touchpoints and the customer experience (brand experience of the customer) are so important for digital brand management.

The communication mix for digital brand management results from analysis and strategy. Based on target groups and personas, targeted communication channels can be selected and content and editorial plans made. Search engine optimization (SEO) and possible optimizations onsite and offsite have to be defined — always in line with the brand values, the brand story, and the varying contents that are offered. Sufficient flexibility is required: The higher degree of interaction with the target groups in the digital space means that spontaneous reactions must be possible. This again presupposes that all those who actively represent the digital brand know “how the brand speaks”. This has to be worked out, introduced, and trained — with rules as well. Finally, the short post of a managing director in a social business network contributes to digital brand management and branding just as much as a contest on Facebook or the speed of reaction to an online support request. All this is thought through and done together in the branding agency.

Like all other communication measures, digital brand management activities must make a lasting contribution to brand perception. Accordingly, measurable goals must be defined in the strategy phase. After a certain period of time, activities can be compared. These evaluations provide a glimpse of the success of the digital actions. Successful measures become visible, as do changes. This creates learning curves. Target groups and their behaviour become apparent. Amplifiers can be installed. The digital way is an iterative way that brings fast results and answers. Observations of trends, content and technical developments, and ongoing strategy adjustments round off the digital brand management. From the interpretation, measures in line with brand values can be implemented more and more precisely.